Page 23 of Golden Atonement

“I won’t ask again,” Dakota reiterated.

“We are the reason Remi believes Reaper cheated on her,” Montana said.

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me!” Dakota roared, right before I heard a loud bang and glass shattering. Didn’t take a fucking genius to know that Dakota had punched his brother. I would have done more, but I refused to be in there with them. “Do you fucking know what you’ve done? Do you fucking care?!”

“Dakota, let him go,” Angelica shouted.

“I had my team look into her past, Montana. It was shit, but you knew that and did it anyway, right? Congratu-fuckin’-lations, asshole. You fucking won. You broke her. She will never trust, never love, never be happy again. It was all part of the plan, right? But hey, it’s okay, ‘cause you still get to sleep happily in your bed at night. She doesn’t speak. She doesn’t eat. She doesn’t sleep. She cries until she’s so damn exhausted her body gives out. She’s shut herself off from the world. She doesn’t care anymore. You broke her heart. It’s all your fault. I hope you’re fucking happy.”

“We didn’t have a choice!”

Now see, that’s where I disagreed.

Everyone had a choice.

He taught me that.

“Yes, you did,” Angelica accused angrily. “You always have a choice, Montana. You are going to destroy the progress she’s made. She’s barely hanging on as it is. You tell her this, it will be the straw that broke the camel’s back. She won’t be able to handle it.”

That’s what she thought.

I’d survived rougher shit than the truth.

The truth was just words. Meaningless unless backed up by action. I didn’t need to see his face to know that what Montana did, he did it for his own gain. I could hear the truth in his voice.

“What is your professional opinion, Dr. Morales?” Vladmir asked worriedly. “I don’t want to hurt her any more than I already have, but as much as it pains me to say this, they are right. My daughter deserves to know the truth. We at least owe her that.”

“And I agree, but I don’t think right now is the time to do that. Remi has been going through the motions. On the outside, she looks like a single mom raising two kids. But on the inside, she lives in darkness. It shrouds her like a cloak. She flat out refuses to talk about Reaper. She won’t even mention his name. For her, it’s like he never existed. She’s fallen into a deep depression. When she’s not with the kids, she wanders the beach alone at night, searching for something to hold on to. She screams out her pain into the darkness, Mr. Ivenok. It’s heartbreaking.”

“She’s right,” Dakota seethed. “My team watches her and the kids like a hawk. We know every move they make. It’s not just Remi. Emma rarely speaks or engages with others. She doesn’t smile. Hell, I’ve never heard the girl laugh. Even Jessie. He’s a little boy. He should be happy, laughing and playing with everything. That kid just sits in the sand and digs holes. They are mimicking their mother. They see Remi’s sadness and emulate it. In their minds, there is nothing to be happy about.”

“But won’t this help?” Vladmir asked. “I mean, if we tell her the truth. Won’t that give her hope, something to cling onto?”

Angelica sighed. “You don’t understand. It’s how you all went about this. Remi’s life has been a series of deceptions, neglect, exploitation, and abuse since the day she was born. You are her biological father, Mr. Ivenok. Instead of fighting for her, loving her, raising Remi yourself, you handed her off. You threw her away. Now, I know why you did what you did, but in Remi’s mind, that’s all she’s going to understand. I know all of you hadgood intentions, but as her therapist, I am warning you. If you insist on telling her this, you will destroy her.”

“We don’t have a choice, Dr. Morales.” Fedorov groaned. “Reaper is out there. He’s hunting. Killing people left and right to ensure her safety. When he’s done, he will seek her out.”

“Not necessarily,” Angelica replied. “From what I’ve read about the two of them, and trust me, the file Montana gave me was extensive. My gut is telling me he won’t approach her. According to the file, everything Reaper has done, he’s done for her. What he values most is her belief in him. With her believing the lie, he won’t feel worthy of her. That because of his actions alone, he destroyed her faith in him.”

Now that was the damn truth!

“But he didn’t fuck that whore,” Sandman said, joining the conversation. “It only looked like he did.”

Well now.

That was interesting.

Sitting up, I leaned closer so I could hear better.

“What do you mean?” Angelica asked, confused.

“I was the one who took the pictures and sent them to Remi. Reaper was so damn drunk that night. Stumbling around, making a fool out of himself. Wendy tried everything to get him to participate, but he refused. He kept telling the bitch no. Bitch even tried to get him to sniff some coke, but he wanted nothing to do with her. I’d received the text from Montana earlier, telling me it was urgent that I got Remi and the kids out of there that night. So, I knocked him out.”

“How?” she asked.

Sandman added, “Only took one hit. He was that drunk. Knocked him clean out. Wendy didn’t waste any time and stripped his pants off him and climbed on top of him. She told me to snap a few pics and send them to Remi. Sent them to Montana too. I was heading upstairs when I heard the back dooropen. It was Remi. She headed straight for the office. I knew what she was going to see. I thought the pictures would have been sufficient, but she opened the office door and saw Wendy dry humping Reaper. I didn’t see the gun until it was too late. Remi fired. She killed Wendy instantly. When Wendy fell to the side, Remi dropped the gun and gasped. The bullet had gone through Wendy and into Reaper. Remi ran.”

“She didn’t know the bullet only grazed him,” Montana whispered. “She thinks she killed him.”

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